1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to improvements in plug and receptacle connector assemblies, and in particular to shielded assemblies of the type used in telephone or data transmission wherein the receptacle is mounted to a printed circuit board or the like.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the telephone and digital electronic industries, increasing use is being made of modular plug type connectors which have sliding contacts located adjacent a mating end thereof. The plugs are typically received within receptacle housings having bent receptacle terminals with cantilevered portions which slideably mate with the plug terminals to establish a separable electrical connection therewith. A disadvantage of prior art connector assemblies has been the resulting expulsion force generated by the cantilevered terminals, which impart a withdrawal force to a mated plug.
Further, prior art receptable terminals include medial portions supported against an outside surface of the receptacle housing, which are exposed to flux contamination, and solder bridging.
Previous receptacle designs also required insertion of the receptacle terminals through an outside wall of the receptacle housing, with the terminals frequently being fully formed after insertion. A fully automated terminal formation and receptacle assembly would offer an economy of manufacture.
One example of a prior art connector arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,350 issued to Hardesty on Oct. 18, 1977. A modular plug for connection to a non-planar, round cable includes cable receiving passageways which extend to the mating end of the plug, providing a ready indication of cable insertion. Also shown in the patent, is a single point of contact between the plug terminal and a cantilevered receptable terminal. If possible, redundant contact points are preferred to assure adequate electrical connection. Further, the bias force of the receptable terminal tends to urge expulsion of the plug from the receptable assembly.
During plug insertion, the free ends of the receptacle terminals are not controlled, being subject to distortion caused by lateral froces generated during plug and receptacle mating. A partial solution to this problem is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,214 issued to Krumreich, et al. on Feb. 13, 1968. As disclosed therein, the cantilevered receptacle terminals have their free ends supported by a housing wall portion, an arrangment which imparts a preload stress to the receptacle terminal and protects the free end of the terminal during plug insertion. However, there is no positive retention between the plug and receptacle terminals, and no redundant contact mating is provided.
There has been an increasing need to provide shielding for the plug and connector assemblies. One inexpensive plug shield arrangement described in AMP Incorporated's Data Sheet 83-694 issued September, 1983, includes a stamped and formed integral sheet metal collar having abutting free ends joined at a longitudinal seam, with the collar being inserted over a plug housing so as to surround the plug. However, the abutting ends have a tendency to separate, allowing leakage of radio frequency and electromagnetic inteference therebetween.